know that there was much snow in the winters. 



White was the first recorder of several birds in Hampshire, e.g. waxwings, snow buntings, little auk 

 and the black-winged stilt, which was seen at Frensham Pond, and which he called the rarest of 

 British birds. He knew that this species migrated. 



If White was to come back today, he would see many changes in the landscape and the birds. The 

 cropping regime is very different now and not very bird-friendly. New crops are often sown in the 

 autumn, so that no stubbles, weeds and seeds are left in the winter. The grains are stored in silos 

 with no access for birds. Farms are not often mixed, so there are fewer farm animals, and horses 

 are no longer needed for agriculture. Therefore there are far fewer insects around. There is also 

 not much rough land left. White would be amazed at the agricultural improvements (higher yields 

 and far fewer pests and diseases), but no doubt he would miss many species of birds and notice 

 the far smaller numbers of bird species that are left. However, there are some species around now 

 that were not yet there in White's time, e.g. collared dove, Canada goose and little ringed plover. 

 Bird ringing and recently radio transmitters have given us much more data on the migration of 

 birds. 



Gilbert White's book The Natural History of Selborne' was very influential. Amongst many others 

 it inspired Darwin and made us think about the impact that we are making on the environment. 

 White can therefore be seen as one of the first ecologists. 



(Summary by Renee Grayer) 



17 January - Bird Conservation in Ecuador - Dr Renton Righelato 



The work in Ecuador described in this talk has been accomplished through the World Land Trust, 

 an organisation formed in 1989 to conserve threatened areas that have a high level of biodiversity. 

 WLT funds local conservation organisations to buy, develop and manage land sustainably. Renton 

 took the audience on a tour of Ecuador from south through north by describing several of these 

 reserves. 



Ecuador ranges geographically from high, volcanic peaks of 6000m down to the lowland rainforest, 

 mangroves and lagoons at sea level. Tapichalaca Reserve is cloud forest at 2-3000m and was set 

 up in 1999 to protect lower slopes that were being eroded by conversion to pasture. More than 10 

 species of endemic birds are found there, including the jocotoco antpitta, a red data book species. 

 Other wildlife includes: 130 endemic plants; 65 endemic orchids, including 29 species not seen 

 elsewhere; frogs, including 10 new species found on the reserve; spectacled bear, mountain tapir 

 and white-fronted capuchin. 



Yungwulla Reserve, slightly north of Tapichalaca but in a fairly low and drier area, is another of the 

 reserves. Here is found the pale-headed brushfinch, formerly thought to have been extinct. The 

 population of these birds plummeted due to parasitism of nests by cowbirds. After a programme of 

 control (female cowbirds were shot) the population increased from 10-20 between 2000-2002 to 

 over 100 today. Maintaining this population relies partly on a decrease in farming as cowbirds tend 

 to feed on farmed areas. The growing trend towards urbanisation eases this problem as the 

 farmers are frequently willing to accept payment for their land since the money enables them to 

 live in the town and train for gainful employment. 



Buenaventura is a cloud forest at 1000-1 800m and the territory of the el oro parakeet. Ocelot, 

 puma and the western white-fronted capuchin can be found there. 330 bird species have been 

 recorded in this reserve whose habitat was improved by acquiring land between the forest 

 fragments and re-foresting it, thus creating a connected environment. 



Travelling farther north in Ecuador one finds the Yanacocha Reserve near Quito. Here at 3000- 

 3500m in the paramo can be found the Andean wolf (or fox), imperial snipe, the carunculated 

 caracara and the Andean condor along with the population of the critically endangered black- 

 breasted puffleg, a hummingbird which was adopted as the emblematic bird of Quito. 



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